Reviews for Flaming Dove
"This book is just
really, really fun. It’s pure pleasure to read, even in its darkest moments. It’s all epic battles and complicated relationships and thoughtful allegory all wrapped up in clean, well-crafted prose....
This book is
an absolute bargain at the Kindle store, and is a thoroughly engaging way to spend a couple of hours."
5/5 stars: "This book is
a delightful read, with fluid writing and a nice pacing of action interspersed with tender moments. It was easy to get into this story, and hard to put it down. I love the way nothing is really cut and dry throughout this story; the Ruler of Hell is not without merits, and the archangels not without sin. The author really forces you to take a step back and question where the line between good and evil actually falls, if there is even such a line. The story seems predictable, but I was surprised many times with the events leading up to the climax of the story. Even when I thought I had finished the story, there was one last surprise waiting for me at the end, a surprise that really drove home a main theme of the story. Best of all, the ending did what all the best endings do; it left me with something to ponder.
I really enjoyed this story, and I believe Daniel Arenson is an author to watch!"
"It's really very simple: if you want to read about angels
tossing around godlight and demons lashing whips and shooting fire
while super-powerful archangels and archdemons blow up half the world
trying to crush each other....well, here you go."
-- David Dalglish, bestselling author
of The Half-Orcs
"Great character development, wonderful imagery, and just great imagination."
-- Ashley's Bookshelf
"Jeff Bezos likes to talk about how, once you begin reading on the Kindle, the device disappears and it's just you and the book. That's great, but with this novel, you get an even more seamless, zipless experience. The author disappears, and it's just you and the story, the characters, and a remarkably well-imagined world that shifts astonishingly in time and place....
"Let me begin here by admitting my limitations. As soon as I found myself reading
Flaming Dove I knew almost immediately that I was out of my depth. Sure, I've put in my time reading
Paradise Lost and even some Dante, but with the exception of Beatrice I didn't recall characters anywhere near as vivid, as lovely, and as terrible as Laila and her minions and adversaries. There's a sweep, a fully imagined majesty and a narrative command in this remarkable fantasy novel that allowed me to totally forget the presence of an author and willingly suspend my disbelief. I wish college English majors (like me, some years ago) could have
Flaming Dove in hand as a gateway to Milton; we would find his narratives of Heaven and Hell far more accessible."
-- Stephen Windwalker, Kindle Nation Daily
"Having read (and reviewed) Arenson’s work before I was almost certain I would enjoy it. I am no stranger to fantasy (duh) and Arenson (more than most) has a genuinely unique way of storytelling, but even with the expected rapture, the quick reading, and unwillingness to put my Kindle down what I didn’t expect was to: gasp, sigh, grit my teeth, cuss my Kindle and cry.
"This was not just a story about an emotionally lost half-breed girl. It’s was more than epic battles and avenging angels. It was the discovery of ones self, the inner battle between good and evil. It was about accepting our fates, understanding our future, and blazing our own paths to happiness… regardless of our ancestry. This was a story about choosing your own way of life.
"Now... I’m sure your next question is 'Misty, how in the hell can you wrap all of that up in 294 pages?' and to that I say 'It’s simple.' Perfectly executed inner dialogue. Off the charts characterization, and battles so intense that even the smallest of deaths left a dent in the reader’s armor. If there were flaws I failed to notice. If there were holes, I must have taken a different path, because to me...
Flaming Dove is what a fantasy novel should strive to be."
"Without spoiling the ending, I will say that the climax is exciting and unexpected. Everything you want in a novel. This book is a fun read, but on a deeper level it makes you think--nothing is purely black or white, good or evil, it’s much more complicated than that. It takes a talented author to make you ponder these things long after you finish the book. I highly recommend “Flaming Dove” and look forward to reading more books by Mr. Arenson."
-- Debra Martin, Two Ends of the Pen